Ruling releases murder suspect's phone calls to the state

Burlington judge: Calls likely to reveal 'information that is relevant to this case'

Nov. 27, 2013

Written by

Elizabeth Murray

Free Press Staff Writer

A Burlington judge has ruled to approve a request by a state prosecutor for all of a murder suspect’s phone conversations dating back to his arrest, according to recent court documents.

Daniel Whalon, 27, of Burlington is accused of stabbing and killing Ralph Bell, 54, in July 2011. Bell, of Burlington, was found on a riverbank beneath the Blue Bridge between Burlington and Winooski. He apparently fell from the trestle after being attacked, according to court papers.

Judge Brian Grearson ruled on Nov. 25 that the the state should receive all of Whalon’s telephone conversations, which were recorded by the jail. He stated that “Mr. Whalon’s recorded phone calls are very likely to produce information that is relevant to this case” and “neither the Defendant nor the Department of Corrections has asserted any claim that the request is unreasonable or oppressive.” Whalon has been held at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans Town since his arrest.

The request for these phone calls came after Grearson also ruled in late September to throw out Whalon’s confession because it was found that police violated the defendant’s rights after they interviewed him following the slaying.

During a status hearing in late October, Katims had argued that these requests should be more specific. He said that obtaining all the phone calls was in violation of Whalon’s privacy — even though Whalon was informed by a standard message each time he was being recorded.

Willison told the Burlington Free Press in October that if the state was granted the request, it would have to devote resources to sifting through the phone calls, assuming that Whalon made at least one phone call per day during his two years in jail.